LOTS 2653-2659 PAINTINGS FROM THE COLLECTION OF ANNA WU WEAKLAND This selection of modern paintings records the artistic influences, interests, and friendships of the artist and educator Anna Wu Weakland. Born in Shanghai in 1924, Anna Wu was encouraged by her father in her ambition to become a scholar of ancient and modern China. At the age of nineteen, she obtained a B.A. from the University of Shanghai and two years later founded her own advertising agency. Seeking further education, Anna Wu journeyed to New York in 1947 to study sociology at Columbia University. While teaching at China Institute in New York, Ms. Wu's life was redirected when she was asked to translate for artist Wang Yachen (1894-1983) , who had travelled to the U.S. to curate an exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Although Ms. Wu had studied calligraphy in her youth, she shifted her focus to learning the history and practice of Chinese traditional painting. During the next several years, she became acquainted with visiting and resident artists, including Zhang Daqian. After she married the noted psychotherapist John H. Weakland, the couple moved to California. There Anna Wu Weakland studied Western painting techniques and developed a personal style that employed painting styles from both traditions but explored Chinese themes. Throughout the years, she has exhibited widely, seen her work added to important public and private collections, and passed along her knowledge and enthusiasm to countless students.

XU BEIHONG (1895-1953)

Cat

Details

XU BEIHONG (1895-1953)
Cat
Signed, with one seal of the artist
Scroll, mounted and framed, ink and colour on paper
81.2 x 53 cm. (32 x 20 7/8 in.)
20th Century

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Lot Essay

Cat sees Xu Beihong carefully composing his piece to highlight the central image, the cat. Placing the animal in the centre of the painting, Xu adds a soft hue of faintly inked blue leaves for a background, contrasting the tough bark of a tree branch on which the cat delivers its gaze. The cat's posture and alert eyes hints at danger lurking beyond the painting, while its upwards-lifted tail adds to the mood of watchfulness and vigilance.

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